[Chapter 244] Slap Emperor Wanli’s flattery!

(0244)

【Today's second update is delivered!】

Chen Denglong was stunned and said in surprise: "What? 500,000 stones?"

Deng Linyong was also surprised and said suspiciously: "Fifty thousand stones? Or five hundred thousand stones?"

Both of them are good at farming, and they all know what 500,000 stones means. 500,000 stones is definitely not a small number! That's right, the area under Xu Xingxia is indeed unprecedentedly large. However, the number of 500,000 stones is indeed a little too large. According to the equivalent of 188.8 kilograms of one stone, 500,000 stones means nearly 100 million kilograms! 100 million kilograms of grain! I'm afraid that ordinary people can't imagine how many there are!

When Ningxia Town was at its peak, it only paid 400,000 shi of grain every year. Now, the entire grain allocated to Ningxia Town by the imperial court every year is estimated to be about 500,000 shi. In other words, if Xu Xingxia could pay 500,000 shi of grain every year, it would be equivalent to Ningxia Town no longer need the money and grain allocated by the superiors and could be self-sufficient. Did the Governor of the Three Borders go crazy and make such a decision?

Xu Xingxia gently knocked on the table, calming everyone down, and said slowly: "Don't worry, as long as we work together to complete this task, it should be difficult. As long as the three gates are sealed and the Tatar cavalry cannot enter, we can cultivate with all our efforts. Level the land, dig ditches, dig deep wells, build farm tools, and accumulate farm fertilizer. These tasks are all done by us, and there will be no great difficulties."

At the beginning, Xu Xingxia felt that Huang Kezhang's request was a bit too much. It was indeed too harsh after only three years of preparation. But now, after he calmed down, he was not very sensitive to this number. Yes, this number was indeed outrageous. However, it was because of the outrageous that opportunities fell on him. If he could really complete this task, the speed of promotion would probably be faster than killing the Tartars.

The Ming Dynasty was a country where imperial power was supreme, and the emperor's power was always the greatest. The power of the civil servant group was, no matter how great it was, and most of the times they were defeated. Today, Emperor Wanli was still a very powerful person in his bones, and no civil servant was his opponent. Due to the shadow of being suppressed by Zhang Juzheng when he was young, Emperor Wanli was very careful to avoid the appearance of the second Zhang Juzheng. Therefore, neither Ye Xianggao nor Fang Congzhe could win when facing Emperor Wanli.

What was the expectation of Emperor Wanli for the Wei Army? Of course it was not a war! After the three major wars, Emperor Wanli no longer wanted to make a big fight. To be precise, it was not that he didn't want to, but that he had the will but was not enough. He had no money or food, and he had a big fight. His biggest wish now was to wipe out all the debts of the Wei Army. Every time he saw the court owed the huge amount of money and food from the Wei Army, Emperor Wanli might have difficulty breathing.

To be honest, Emperor Wanli didn't like Xu Xingxia's hand over hundreds or thousands of heads of Tartars. At the age of age, he was no longer interested in using swords and guns. However, if you suddenly hand over 500,000 stones of grain, he would probably jump up. Yes, he just jumped up. In the late Ming Dynasty, there was probably no emperor who liked to accumulate money and food in his own treasury more than Wanli.

In the late Ming Dynasty, the national treasury was empty, and the three major levies consumed were actually the money and grain of the treasury, which was the private money of Emperor Wanli. After the three major levies, Emperor Wanli looked at the empty treasury and probably was bleeding in his heart. He tried every means to enrich his treasury and gather all the money that could be accumulated. This was what he liked to do the most. If Ningxia Town could achieve self-sufficiency in money and grain, Emperor Wanli would never be stingy with his rewards. If it was not done well, it would be possible to be a general officer.

What was Emperor Wanli’s expectations for the generals of each town? Of course, you should do it yourself and don’t need me to pay. Originally, the garrison system established by Zhu Yuanzhang was self-sufficient internally, "to support millions of soldiers without spending the slightest money and food of the country." However, in the end, for various reasons, the burden of the money and food of the millions of soldiers fell on the country, so that the court was overwhelmed and couldn’t even breathe.

If each town can bear its own money and food on its own, it is estimated that Emperor Wanli would laugh in his dreams. The court did not have the burden of the important towns in his nine borders, and it would be much easier to do anything. In order to achieve this goal, he must set an example. If Xu Xingxia could really pay 500,000 stones of grain, Emperor Wanli would definitely reward and promote it vigorously. It is estimated that the civil servant group, which is also troubled by money and food, would also actively agree.

In other words, actively farming and producing large amounts of food is easier to win the favor of the emperor and the cabinet ministers than simply creating military achievements, and it is easier to get promotion opportunities. Well, doing this is indeed a bit suspicious of flattery. However, in this era, you must recognize the reality and take the fastest path. Only when you have a higher position, greater power, and heavy status can you do more things to reverse the destiny of history.

Compared with watching the Tartars enter the pass and harm the people of the Central Plains in the future, it should not be a big problem to indirectly flatter Emperor Wanli? With sufficient food in the country, it is also very beneficial to ordinary people. At least, when encountering famine, the country still has the ability to rescue, which will not lead to large-scale ***. Otherwise, once the *** occurs, the people will suffer in the end.

Making up his mind, Xu Xingxia continued: "After Morigen retreating, the large-scale Tartars moved south, probably not so fast. A small-scale Tartars could deal with it. A slightly larger-scale Tartars could dispatch artillery battalions and chariot battalions to deal with it together. Therefore, the main task of the Qianhuobao Institute of Zhenshuobao in the next one or two years is to actively recruit personnel, work hard to farm, and produce as much food as possible."

Everyone thought about it carefully and slowly felt that Xu Xingxia's plan was still possible. The reason why the land north of Weizhen Fort is barren is that it is due to the rampant Tatar cavalry. If it can really stop the rampant Tatar cavalry and work hard to farm, the task of 500,000 stones can still be completed. Of course, it is absolutely not easy to do this. It is estimated that in the entire Ningxia Town, no one can do it except Xu Xingxia.

Chen Denglong said tactfully: "Sir, repair the canal, dig water wells, and build agricultural tools..."

Xu Xingxia said cheerfully: "I will pay all the funds. In view of the current special circumstances, the Governor of the Three Borders has allocated this field to my name. In other words, during my lifetime, the dominance of this field belongs to me Xu Xingxia. I plan to implement the production method of large farms within the Thousand Households and no longer distribute the fields to each military household."

"Every military household can work in the farm. Everyone only needs to work, get rewards, and support themselves. They don't have to wait for the harvest of food, nor worry about the arrival of the Tartars. The harvest and losses of the farm are all from me, Xu Xingxia, and have nothing to do with you. For example, if an accident occurs, the crops are destroyed by the Tartars, and all the losses are also my personal responsibility and I will not ow everyone the money and food."

Everyone present was greatly relieved. What they were most worried about was actually what if the Tartars went south and destroyed some of the crops. The Tartars might not be able to destroy all the crops. It would be very troublesome if they only needed to destroy dozens of households. Fortunately, Xu Xingxia generously took over all the losses. However, Xu Xingxia still needs to explain the specific operation mode of this farm clearly.

Xu Xingxia said: "I will announce the specific operation mode of the farm in two days. Now, there are a few things that need to be studied first. First, I am responsible for the specific procedures of Qianhuobao, Zhenshuobao, and asked Yu Zhenfu to help with the Ningxia Capital Division. I was anxious to come back, so I only brought Qianhuobao's personal documents and forgot to get Qianhuobao's seal. Second, all the information related to Qianhuobao's Qianhuobao, such as personnel yellow lists, money and grain expenses over the years, military households' escape situation, etc., please also ask Yu Zhenfu to go to Zuotun Guard Office to handle it."

Yu Lijun stood up and said happily: "I will handle it immediately after the meeting ends!"

Xu Xingxia nodded and raised her voice and said, "Now, please pay attention! I will announce several important personnel appointments!"

Everyone hurriedly sat down and waited for the announcement.

Xu Xingxia said sternly: "I announce that Yu Lijun will be appointed as the deputy thousand households of the Qianhu, Zuotun Guard of Ningxia Commander! Appoint Zhang Quanfu, Chi Hu, Wang Xia, Liu Heng, Mao Shisan, Gao Meng, Zhang Feng, Yun Qifeng, Lin Dacheng, Chen Shouwang, Peng Dang and others as the hundred households! Appoint Liu Guangliang, Chen Denglong, Lin Hainiu, Zhang Yunda, Gao Zhengcheng, and Deng Linyong as the hundred households! All the small flags are promoted to the general flags! All the hundred households are selected from the military households and promoted to the small flags!"

Yesterday, when the three-sided governor appointed Xu Xingxia as the Qianhuo House of Zhenshuobao, he did not appoint other officials. There should have been two deputy Qianhuo Houses, but none of them were appointed. For an old bureaucrat, of course, it cannot be explained by forgetting. Even if he forgot, Li Guozhen would not forget, and Wu Haiming would not forget. It must be that Huang Kezhang had special instructions not to interfere in the personnel arrangements of the Qianhuo House of Zhenshuobao, so they did not dare to mention it.

What does this mean? It means that the other officials of the Thousand Household Institute will be arranged by Xu Xingxia himself. It is estimated that this is the repayment for the 500,000 stone of grain. Huang Kezhang really needs the 500,000 stone of grain. To be honest, if it were someone else, it would be impossible to agree to the 500,000 stone of grain. Apart from the time traveler, who has the courage to hand over 500,000 stone of grain to Ningxia Town three years later?
Chapter completed!